Microsoft Reveals More Details on Windows 8.1

In a blog post, Antoine Leblond, Corporate VP for Windows Program Management at Microsoft, shared some of the changes we’ll see in the upcoming major update to Windows 8, officially known as Windows 8.1. Here are some that caught our eye.

More Personalization Features: In Windows 8.1, the device can act as a picture frame by showing a slide show of images at the lock screen. There will also be a shortcut at the lock screen to access the camera. For the Start screen, more tile sizes are now available.

Improved Search: In Windows 8.1, the Search charm will provide global search results (powered by Bing, of course) using an aggregated view of many content sources. The Bing blog has a post that goes into detail some of these new search features.

Variable Snap Views: Besides improvements for using multiple apps at once, Windows 8.1 will have variable, continuous size of snap views. That means you can resize apps to any size you want, split the screen evenly between two apps, or have up to three apps on each screen. Multiple windows of the same app (such as two Internet Explorer windows) can be snapped together.

Updated PC Settings: PC Settings in Windows 8.1 gives you ‘access to all your settings on your device’ without having to go to the Control Panel on the desktop. Some of these things include changing display resolution, setting power options, changing product key, joining a domain, and managing SkyDrive.

Internet Explorer 11: Windows 8.1 will come with Internet Explorer 11 (IE11). It boasts of better touch performance, faster page load times, and new usability features, such as the ability to access opened tabs in sync across other Windows 8.1 devices.

Windows Logo ‘Start’ Tip: Windows 8.1 will change the Start “tip” to be the Windows logo. It appears when you move the cursor to the bottom left corner of the screen. It is also always visible on the taskbar when you’re in desktop mode. Clicking on it will bring you back to the Start screen. For those who operate mainly in desktop mode, if you were to put all the apps you use on the Start screen, this ‘tip’ becomes a pseudo Start button of old.

Of course, the blog post has more details, so hit on the source link below to find out more.

A preview of Windows 8.1 will be released in end June, at the same time the Microsoft Build developer conference is taking place.